Third week of November ends with a late Palm Warbler and increasing numbers of irruptives

Palm Warbler 'western', North Hadley, MA, Nov 21, 2025

Song Sparrow, North Hadley, MA, Nov 21, 2025

House Finch, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 20, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Nov 20, 2025

White throated Sparrow, Hadley, MA, Nov 20, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 20, 2025

Fox Sparrow, Ware, MA, Nov 19, 2025

Purple Finches, Rail Trail, Ware, MA, Nov 19, 2025

Peregrine Falcon, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 17, 2025

Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 17, 2025

Canada Geese, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 17, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 17, 2025

Northern Cardinal, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Nov 16, 2025

Hooded Merganser, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Nov 16, 2025

Surf Scoter, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 16, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 16, 2025

Eastern Bluebird, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 15, 2025

The third week of November has now come to an end and our largely cooler than average and windy weather has continued with a few flurries on a couple days.  Given these weather conditions, the time of year plus the ongoing issues with Wilson (see below) I have concentrated on birds in the south Quabbin area (particularly around Winsor Dam).  Waterfowl is always the big draw here this time of year with gulls not far behind.  The best waterfowl species of the week was certainly the Barrow's Goldeneye at the Holyoke Dam on the 12th (and continued through the week).  No huge shows of waterfowl at Winsor Dam although the diversity has been decent overall with some mornings more productive than others.  The gull show has been good too with the best for the week being an Iceland Gull on the 17th.  Irruptives of multiple species continue to arrive into the area.  The best was a flyover White winged Crossbill on the 17th.  Evening Grosbeaks and Red Crossbills continue to be around in small numbers at multiple locations.  Pine Siskins and Purple Finches also continue to show quite well plus increasing numbers of American Goldfinches.  The Finch Forecast (which I contribute data to) called for the potential of a large flight of many species and so far the forecast is looking to be playing out.  It will be interesting to see what the rest of winter brings in.  With a little extra time away from home I covered a few spots the last couple mornings trying for late warblers and find a group of half a dozen Yellow rumped Warblers in an area they have overwintered in the past and a very late 'western' Palm Warbler today.

Wilson continues to occupy my time and thoughts as we struggle through what we will do with him.  For now we are just in monitor mode of the tumor and trying to stay on top of him making things worse.  As I said before there are no good options available for us and it continues to be some stressful times.  Thankfully he is still acting happy (although he really wants to lick at his foot every chance he gets!).

More migrants the last several days for the mid part of September

 

Merlin, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Sep 16, 2024

Swamp Sparrow, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Sep 16, 2024

Sandhill Cranes, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 15, 2024

Yellow throated Vireo, Belchertown, MA, Sep 15, 2024

Black and White Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Sep 15, 2024

American Golden Plover and Killdeer, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 15, 2024

House Finch, Amherst, MA, Sep 14, 2024

Eastern Towhee, Belchertown, MA, Sep 13, 2024

Black throated Green Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 13, 2024

Palm Warbler 'western', Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Sep 12, 2024

Indigo Bunting, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Sep 12, 2024

Yellow Warblers, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 12, 2024

The last several days have featured very pleasant weather with cool mornings and warm afternoons with abundant sunshine.  The winds have also been mainly calm and a decent amount of birds have moved most nights, although many seem to be flying right past.  Nonetheless there are birds around every day and I have added a few species for the month with my total standing at 147 species, which is a bit behind a typical September for me.  My back has still been giving me problems on and off, which has kept me from driving as much but has kept me walking more.  The forecast for the next week seems to feature more of the same weather with just a slight chance of some showers during the period.  Still waiting for another big influx of birds...time will tell when (and if) this will happen.

Western Cattle Egret and four species of warblers this morning

Western Cattle Egret, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Nov 16, 2023

Wilson's Warbler, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA, Nov 16, 2023

With temps that eventually made it to the upper 50's and sunny and calm conditions and a few late warbler species in the area lately I decided to try my luck at tracking as many warbler species as I could this morning...a sorta big warbler day in mid November.  I had my spots I wanted to hit and had good luck at each for both warblers and other stuff.

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Nov 16, 2023

I started at the UMASS campus pond before the sun came up in the hopes that at least one of the Common Yellowthroats present there at the beginning of the month continued until today but no luck.  The area near where I had two yellowthroats before featured two students on a see saw raising money by see sawing for 24 hours...the activity and noise made tracking down warblers there impossible.  Next I headed down along the river in Hadley to find at least one Yellow rumped Warbler and found at least three...hopefully these will continue into the rapidly approaching winter season.

Wilson's Warbler, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA, Nov 16, 2023

American Black Duck, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA, Nov 16, 2023

White throated Sparrow, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA, Nov 16, 2023

My next stop was down to Mount Holyoke College to try to find the continued Wilson's Warbler.  I got there a little before 7:30 and it was still fairly cold.  I made a quick walk around the area and didn't have any luck initially but I thought I heard but could not confirm it so I kept walking around.  As I was standing in the small garden a yellow blur went by and landed in some weeds and then popped up low in a tree.  The Wilson's Warbler had made an appearance and was seen feeding very actively.  With two warbler species down I left the college and headed north to try to find a Nashville Warbler.

Western Cattle Egret, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Nov 16, 2023

As I was on my way from Mount Holyoke College up to Great Pond I made a brief detour down to the East Meadows see if a reported Western Cattle Egret was still around and I found it right away (thanks Joe) as it chilled on a fence post near a small barn (the new name of Western Cattle Egret is the result of a split giving the world Western Cattle Egret and Eastern Cattle Egret).

Nashville Warbler, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 16, 2023

Song Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 16, 2023

House Finch, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 16, 2023

White crowned Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 16, 2023

Field Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 16, 2023

Golden crowned Kinglet, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 16, 2023

Green winged Teal, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 16, 2023

Once I arrived at Great Pond I was able to locate the continued Nashville Warbler fairly quickly and got some much better photos.  I then spent the next hour plus in a fruitless attempt to find a Palm Warbler in the area.  Although I failed on finding a Palm Warbler I did find some good stuff including 60+ Green winged Teal, three Great Blue Herons, a couple Field Sparrows and a White crowned Sparrow.

Pine Warbler, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 16, 2023

Pine Warbler, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 16, 2023

Chipping Sparrow, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 16, 2023

House Finch, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 16, 2023

Red tailed Hawk, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 16, 2023

White throated Sparrow, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 16, 2023

I then made the drive back east with my destination being Winsor Dam to look for some of the Pine Warblers that have been hanging in the area.  It took over an hour of wandering around before I finally came across the flock the Pine Warblers were in.  I counted at least half a dozen individuals with a variety of plumages from bright yellow to gray.  Probably the largest group I have had of Pine Warblers this late in the season.  During my search for the warblers I had a variety of species including two late Chipping Sparrows among the large flock that contained the Pine Warblers.

By the end of the morning I had found four species of warblers, a new species for me for the year in the county with the Western Cattle Egret and several other lingering species among a total of 60 species.  Much more on the warblers for the morning at the following link.

Yellow headed Blackbird, American Coots and other waterfowl for the last two days

American Coots, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 3, 2022

American Coots, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 3, 2022

Blackbirds leaving roost, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 3, 2022

Black capped Chickadee without a tail (AKA Chickadee Antpitta), Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 3, 2022

Rusty Blackbird, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 3, 2022

Song Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 3, 2022

Fox Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 3, 2022

House Finch, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 3, 2022

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 3, 2022

I headed over to Hatfield before dawn to check some areas in the area of Great Pond in the hopes of finding some lingering warblers once things warmed up.  I made a few stops along the river and turned up several Eastern Screech Owls plus a Snow Bunting flying around and calling before the sun came up.  I then spent the next few hours at Great Pond looking for late warblers and other lingering species.  Thankfully there were no hunters around for the morning and it was a pleasure to be outside, even if it was a bit chilly early on before the sun started warming things up a bit.  I turned up a nice high count of American Coots among the limited diversity of waterfowl.  I could hear lots of calling from blackbirds and grackles that were roosting at the pond and eventually the hordes took off in mass over the course of about ten minutes when thousands of birds streamed out to the south.  I was scanning through the masses and as a group of a thousand plus Common Grackles flew by low I picked out a lone male Yellow headed Blackbird among them.  The birds were gone before I had a chance to try to get the camera for a photo.  I got the word out about the bird as quick as I could and amazingly Cory turned up what was almost certainly the same bird flying south and calling along the river in Hadley perhaps ten minutes after I saw it in Hatfield.  I suspect the bird will return to roost at Great Pond again so hopefully others will get to see it.  Yellow headed Blackbird is a fairly rare species here and I have had six records of the species ever in Hampshire County with all but one being in fall and the other being in February this year.  The post about the one I had in October of last year has more links to other sightings over the years.  Always a fun species to turn up among the hordes of blackbirds and grackles.  Besides the species mentioned above there were lots of other stuff among the 51 species present including loads of House Finches and American Goldfinches and eight species of sparrows but just one species of warbler.

Turkey Vulture, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 3, 2022

Red breasted Mergansers, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 3, 2022

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 3, 2022

After my time at Great Pond I started my way toward home but did stop for a short visit to Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River looking for warblers but finding none at all.  It was not a totally unproductive stop as I had three Turkey Vultures and three Evening Grosbeaks that flew by calling and headed off to the southeast...the grosbeaks look to be staging an incursion into the area that is just beginning and hopefully lots more will follow.  I also made a brief stop at a dead calm Winsor Dam where I had nine species of waterfowl including a couple Red breasted Mergansers and a distant Red throated Loon.

Ruddy Ducks, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 2, 2022

Ruddy Ducks, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 2, 2022

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 2, 2022

On the second I headed out mainly in search of lingering warblers and despite hitting a number of spots in Hadley and Amherst I only managed to find some Yellow rumped Warblers.   While I was out I heard about ten Ruddy Ducks at Winsor Dam and eventually I made my way over there and the ducks were still present.  Ten is a great count for this species that can be tough to find in the county for some reason.  I also had a high count of 22 Long tailed Ducks plus a couple Greater Yellowlegs.  It was a nice and warm day eventually with highs that hit 70.